This is a call to action for you to support your fellow school librarians who will find themselves taking award winning, much needed titles out of their library and finding that they are unable to order books for their library unless they meet requirements set by a new board policy.
The Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL) is excited to continue supporting our profession by highlighting the impact of school libraries through the "101 Reasons Why I Love My Library" Campaign. The MASL kick-off date is March 1, 2025, ending on April 30, 2025. This is a call to action for you to support your fellow school librarians who will be losing their jobs in Carroll County. Under the guise of balancing the budget middle and high school librarians are being eliminated. They are having a meeting today at 3:30 to find out their fate for next year. In addition, they are eliminating library clerks in the elementary schools. While elementary librarians will retain their jobs this year, there are no guarantees for the following years. Middle and high school librarians are crucial and these positions should not be eliminated.
In the past few years, it has become popular to question book purchases in school libraries during school board meetings and on social media. Some of these questions come from a place of curiosity or knowledge seeking, but others seem to suggest that school librarians are randomly choosing books without thought or process. There are few if any areas of library science that are done without thorough review of best practices, research, and users in mind. Selecting books for a school library is no different. While each county may have slightly different policies and procedures, best practice dictates that purchasing books includes collection analysis, list generation and purchase recommendation, administrative approval, purchase, and addition to the collection. Over the next few weeks, MASL will be publishing a blog series that explores Maryland School Librarians’ book purchasing processes and procedures. There will be three blog posts in this series; one will focus on high school, another on middle school, and a third on elementary school. These posts are written to be shared with your school community, so please distribute widely!
By Melissa King, School Library Media Specialist
by Dr. Jennifer Sturge
I am Brittany Tignor, Treasurer of MASL. As a high school librarian, I am constantly working to balance the needs and wants of students, teachers, and curriculum. The process that I follow is based on the Worcester County Library Procedure Manual and includes ways to ensure that I am purchasing the highest quality titles that meet the needs of my school community and my budget. The goal of this blog post is to educate library stakeholders about the steps that are taken before a book is placed on a School Library shelf.
